Catalogue 
of  an  Crf)flutton  of  a 

^election  of 

f©itl>  an  Slntrobuction  bp 

Batotti  Iteppei 

jf  refcericfe  Steppel  &  Co* 
4       39tf»  Street 
$eto  forft 

#otem&er  7tlj  to  0tfotmbtt  30t%  1907 


fUc-  &*«uoV  Ml 

Catalogue 
of  an  Cji)tbttton  of  a 

Selection  of 


Witt)  an  Slnttotmction  bp 

f  rebracft  Steppel  &  €o* 
A€a$t  39tt>  Street 
$eto  forfe 

$otoembet  7tfj  to  |5otoembet  30tf),  1907 


THE  DE  VINNE  PRESS 


INTRODUCTION 


ONE  is  almost  tempted  to  say  that 
etching  came  more  naturally  to 
Eembrandt  than  painting,  because 
unquestionably  a  student  of  our  day  finds 
much  greater  pleasure  in  the  paintings  done 
toward  the  close  of  Rembrandt's  career 
than  in  those  of  his  earlier  years,  while  in 
the  case  of  the  etchings,  although  his  earlier 
and  later  styles  are  very  different,  one  can 
not  say  that  the  early  plates  are  not  in  their 
way  quite  as  beautiful  as  the  later  ones. 

In  studying  the  work  of  any  artist  it  is 
well  to  distinguish  between  those  subjects 
which  it  paid  him  to  produce  and  those 
which  he  lost  both  time  and  money  in  pro- 
ducing. It  seems  probable  that  the  etchings 
of  Rembrandt  belong  almost  entirely  to  the 
latter  class  and  that  his  work  in  etching  was 
much  less  influenced  by  the  thought  of  pub- 
lic approval  than  his  work  in  painting.  In 
etching  his  marvelous  freedom  must  have 
seemed  very  rough  and  sketchy  to  a  public 
brought  up  on  the  traditions  of  Schongauer, 
Diirer,  and  the  Little  Masters,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  vast  majority  of  his  plates 
were  done  more  to  please  himself  than  to 
please  the  public. 

Of  the  three  main  classes  of  Rembrandt's 
etched  work— the   Scriptural  pieces,  the 

3 


portraits  and  the  landscapes— the  Scrip- 
tural pieces  were  at  that  time  the  most 
fashionable  and  it  is  probable  that  Bem- 
brandt's  plates  of  such  subjects  paid  him 
better  on  the  whole  than  any  of  the  others. 
Some  of  his  very  greatest  plates  were  Bib- 
lical subjects  and  the  greatest  of  all,  the 
Hundred  Guilders9  Print,  comes  into  this 
class.  It  was  a  deeply  religious  era  and  the 
Biblical  prints  were  just  as  true  an  expres- 
sion of  the  feeling  of  the  time  as  the  more 
frivolous  subjects  were  an  expression  of 
the  feeling  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Even 
among  the  Scriptural  plates  it  is  probable 
that  no  roughly  done  etching  such  as  the 
Sacrifice  of  Abraham,  or  the  Triumph  of 
Mordecai,  or  Tobit  Blind,  was  done  to  please 
the  public.  If  that  had  been  what  Eem- 
brandt  had  in  mind  he  would  probably  have 
employed  a  much  more  careful  style.  The 
plates  which  one  suspects  of  being  conces- 
sions to  public  opinion  are  those  large  sub- 
jects which  Eembrandt  began  but  which 
seem  unquestionably  to  have  been  finished 
by  his  pupils  to  satisfy  the  popular  taste, 
such  plates  as  the  great  Ecce  Homo  (Bartsch 
No.  77),  and  The  Descent  from  the  Cross 
(Bartsch  No.  81).  It  would  obviously  have 
been  madness  to  think  of  pleasing  the  pop- 
ular taste  of  the  time  with  such  a  plate  as 
The  Three  Crosses  or  Christ  at  Emmaus. 
On  the  other  hand  we  know  (from  its  tradi- 
tional name  of  the  Hundred  Guilders'  Print) 
that  the  plate  of  Christ  Healing  the  Sick 
was  as  greatly  beloved  then  as  it  is  now  and 
it  is  a  work  of  such  astounding  force  and 

4 


truth  that  one  has  only  to  look  at  it  to  see 
that  it  is  a  work  of  direct  inspiration. 

Every  one  knows  that  much  of  the  great- 
est work  of  any  man  is  produced  under  the 
spur  of  necessity,  but  it  is  perhaps  stating 
it  fairly  to  say  that  while  a  picture  of  a  sub- 
ject which  is  in  fashion  at  the  time  may  be  a 
great  and  inspired  work,  it  may  also  be  a 
" pot-boiler,' '  while  a  portrait  of  a  poor 
member  of  the  artist's  family  or  a  subject 
of  a  class  which  is  decidedly  out  of  fashion 
can  only  have  been  done  because  the  artist 
loved  to  do  it  and  felt  himself  inspired  at 
just  that  moment  to  do  just  that  subject. 

The  portraits  of  great  people  may  have 
been  done  for  money  but  certainly  were  not 
always  done  for  that  reason.  Material  con- 
siderations had  nothing  to  do  with  the  lov- 
ing care  with  which  Rembrandt  executed  the 
portrait  of  Jan  Six,  who  was  perhaps  his 
best  friend  in  the  world,  and  a  portrait  of 
such  a  comparatively  unimportant  man  as 
Jan  Lutma  must  clearly  have  been  done 
for  love  and  as  in  the  case  of  the  Hundred 
Guilders'  Print  one  has  only  to  look  at  the 
portrait  to  see  that  it  is  so. 

Finally,  the  landscape  etchings  are  so 
supremely  beautiful,  so  spontaneous,  and 
so  marvelously  ahead  of  Rembrandt's  time 
that  it  is  obvious  that  they  must  have  been 
done  simply  for  his  own  satisfaction  and 
because,  in  fact,  he  could  not  help  doing 
them. 

David  Keppel. 

November  7th,  1907. 


5 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/catalogueofexhibOOfred 


CATALOGUE 

1  Rembrandt  with  a  Scarf.  (Bartsch  No.  17) 

Dated  1633.  The  third  state  of  five,  before  the  gray 
spots  appeared  on  the  hat  and  over  the  left  eye. 

2  Rembrandt  Drawing.  (Bartsch  No.  22) 

Dated  1648.  Proof  with  the  landscape  seen  through 
the  window,  but  before  the  back  of  the  large  book 
was  divided  in  two  by  a  horizontal  shadow,  making 
it  appear  like  two  thinner  books  placed  one  on  top 
of  the  other. 

Superb  impression.  Duplicate  from  the  Berlin 
public  collection  and  also  from  the  Thiermann  and 
Ellingwood  collections. 

3  Abraham  Entertaining  the  Three  Angels. 

(Bartsch  No.  29) 

Dated  1656.    The  only  state. 

1  Abraham  sending  away  Hagar.  (Bartsch  No.  30) 

Dated  1637.  The  only  state.  Wide  margin. 
"All  the  qualities  of  Rembrandt  are  \mited  to  a  high  degree  in 
this  print :  beauty  of  expression,  arrangement,  delicacy,  rich- 
ness of  detail,  and  chiaroscuro."  Charles  Blanc. 
"This  is  one  of  the  most  perfectly  delicate  of  all  Rembrandt's 
etchings.  The  sureuess  of  the  faint,  thin  lines  on  which  the 
expression  of  the  face  chiefly  depends,  the  masterly  reservation 
of  reflections  and  half-lights  in  open  shading,  the  opportune 
omission  of  labor  where  omission  was  better  than  toil,  justify 
our  admiration." 

P.  G-.  Hamerton :  Etching  and  Etchers,  pages  82-83. 

5  Abraham's  Sacrifice.  (Bartsch  No.  35) 

Dated  1655.    The  only  state. 

' '  By  its  grandeur  and  originality  of  invention  and  composition 
it  may  well  take  rank  as  one  of  Rembrandt's  finest  plates." 

"  Independently  of  its  very  fine  composition,  and  the  magnifi- 
cent style  in  the  drawing  of  Abraham  and  the  Angel,  this  plate 
may  be  easily  recommended  as  a  fine  example  of  the  free  etched 
line  which  is  everywhere  perfectly  frank  and  full  of  vital 
energy."  P.  G.  Hamerton. 

6  Joseph  Relating  His  Dream.  (Bartsch  No.  37) 

Dated  1638.  Early  impression  before  the  almost 
vertical  shading  on  the  table-top. 

7  The  Triumph  of  Mordecai.  (Bartsch  No.  40) 

Assumed  date  1640. 

7 


8  Tobit  Blind.  (Bartsch  No.  42) 

Dated  1651.  Early  impression  before  the  plate  was 
entirely  cleaned. 

"  There  are  a  few  remarkably  good  etchings  of  1651.  First  the 
wonderfully  delicate  little  print  of  The  Blind  Tobit,  the  most 
striking  and  affecting  picture  of  the  helplessness  of  a  man 
struck  blind."  Knackfuss :  Rembrandt,  page  118. 

"  .  .  .  one  of  his  most  touching  biblical  illustrations  Tobit 
Blind,  with  the  Bog,  a  work  in  which  the  mental  conception, 
which  is  most  pathetic,  is  everything,  and  the  manual  perform  - 
ance  so  simple,  so  devoid  of  all  pretension,  that  it  requires 
some  knowledge  of  etching  to  recognize  the  strength  of  the 

maSt        P.  G.  Hamerton :  Etchings  of  Rembrandt,  page  44. 

9  Angels  Announcing  the  Birth  of  Christ.  (Bartsch  No.  44) 

Dated  1634.  The  effect  of  this  print  almost  entirely 
depends  upon  the  clearness  of  the  nocturne  land- 
scape in  the  distance  to  the  left. 

"These  great  scenes  from  the  Bible,  no  one  has  conceived 
them  better  than  Rembrandt,  and  no  one  felt  more  keenly 
their  touching  and  simple  poetry.  The  Apparition  of  the  Angels 
to  the  Shepherds  has  been  the  subject  of  many  pictures  ;  but 
how  often  does  one  rest  indifferent  to  the  representations  of 
this  marvelous  scene !  Rembrandt  finds  here  occasion  to  show 
the  two  most  astounding  sides  of  his  genius ;  expression  and 
chiaroscuro."  Charles  Blanc. 

"The  effect  of  this  superb  print  is  wonderful.  Pine  impres- 
sions of  it  are  rare. ' '  Bartsch. 

10  The  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds.  (Bartsch  No.  46) 

Assumed  date  1652.  An  extremely  fine  rich  im- 
pression in  the  finished  state. 

11  The  Flight  into  Egypt;  A  Night  Piece.  (Bartsch  No.  53) 

Dated  1651.  Extremely  fine  impression.  It  is 
from  the  collection  of  Sir  Seymour  Haden  and  bears 
his  autograph  at  the  back. 

1 2  Flight  into  Egypt ;  The  Holy  Family  Crossing  a  Rill. 

(Bartsch  No.  55) 

Dated  1654.  The  only  state.  Early  impression  on 
white  paper. 

"La  Vierge,  appuyant  sa  main  sur  sa  selle,  penche  la  tete  d'une 
airtriste;  la  precaution  du  vieillard  qui  sond  l'eau  avec  son 
baton,  est  exprimee  d'une  maniere  saisissante;  l'ane  est  un 
petit  chef-d'oeuvre  de  dessin  et  de  gravure.  Si  cette  petite 
estampe  etait  rare,  on  la  paierait  des  prix  enormes,  tant  elle 
est  charmante. ' '  Charles  Blanc. 

13  The  Same. 

Another  impression  on  yellowish  paper,  with 
margin. 

14  The  Rest  in  Egypt.   In  outline.  (Bartsch  No.  58) 

Dated  1645.  This  impression  bears  the  stamps  of 
two  collections,  neither  of  which  is  known  to  Fagan. 
The  impressions  of  this  charming  little  print  are 
always  very  faint  and  delicate. 

Eeprodueed  in  Charles  Blanc's  catalogue  of  Rem- 
brandt's Etchings. 

8 


15  The  Return  from  Jerusalem  (Bartsch  No.  60) 

Dated  1654.    Early  impression,  full  of  burr. 


16  Christ  Preaching.  (Bartsch  No.  67) 

Assumed  date  1635.  The  only  state.  Superb  im- 
pression in  rich  black  ink  on  white  paper.  Wide 
margin. 

"  Though  less  important  than  the  Hundred  Guilders'  Print,  the 
Christ  Preaching  is  certainly  as  strong  as,  if  not  stronger  than, 
its  great  companion  in  its  drawing  of  human  character.  The 
profound  attention  of  the  assembly,  the  marvelous  expi-essions 
of  their  faces  as  they  listen  to  the  words  of  Christ,  make  an 
impression  upon  us  that  cannot  be  forgotten,  and  we  are  as  if 
we  ourselves  were  there  listening  to  what  the  great  Preacher 
has  to  say."  Atherton  Curtis. 

17  The  Same. 

Another  impression,  on  yellow  paper.  This  im- 
pression, although  not  so  fine  as  the  preceding, 
has  still  got  the  burr  on  the  right  sleeve  of  the 
figure  in  the  left  foreground  and  also  the  burr  on 
the  corner  of  the  building  in  the  upper  right  hand 
corner.  This  burr  disappears  in  all  but  the  earliest 
impressions. 

18  Christ  and  the  Tribute  Money.  (Bartsch  No.  68) 

Assumed  date  1635.  The  first  state  of  three,  before 
the  shade  on  the  turban  of  the  foremost  figure. 
From  the  collections  of  Amboise  Firmin-Didot  and 
Louis  Galichon. 

19  The  Raising  of  Lazarus.    The  Smaller  Plate. 

(Bartsch  No.  72) 

Dated  1642.  The  first  state  of  three,  with  three 
little  strokes  behind  the  head  of  Lazarus. 

20  Christ  Healing  the  Sick.  (Bartsch  No.  74) 

Known  as  the  Hundred  Guilders'  Print. 

Assumed  date  1650.  This  is  usually  conceded  to 
be  the  greatest  of  Rembrandt's  etchings.  Superb 
impression  on  Japan  paper,  with  margin.  The  sec- 
ond state  of  six.  Only  eight  impressions  are  known 
of  the  first  state. 

"  Ce  n'est  pas  pour  rien  que  ce  morceau  est  si  celebre  dans  le 
monde,  .  .  .  ,  car  vraiment  tout  y  est  sublime,  la  mise  en  scene, 
la  combinaison  des  lignes,  la  verite  et  la  variete  des  expres- 
sions, les  prestiges  de  la  lumiere  et  de  l'ombre,  et  enfin  l'execu- 
tion,  dont  la  finesse  ne  le  cede  point  ici  a  la  profondeur  meme 
du  sentiment.  .  .  . 

"Les  plus  croyants,  les  plus  fervents  sont  ceux  qui  appro- 
chent  le  plus  de  la  personne  du  Christ ;  a  mesure  que  les  groupes 
s'eloignent  du  centre  de  la  composition,  les  manifestations  de 
la  foi  deviennent  moins  vives.  Mais  que  de  delicatesse  et  de 
verite  dans  ces  nuances !  le  discours  peut  a  peine  les  rendre : 
la  pointe  de  Rembrandt  les  fait  sentir.  Jamais  la  peinture 
a-t-elle  rencontre,  je  le  demande,  des  physionomies  plus  pro- 
fondement  humaines  que  celle  de  cette  vieille  femme,  aux  bras 
dechames,  aux  mains  sillonnees  de  rides,  qui  crie  la  douleur, 

9 


et  supplie  avec  tant  d'ame  pour  la  guerison  de  sa  fille  couchee 

a  ses  pieds  ?  .  .  . 

"  Faut-il  parler  maintenant  de  l'execution  magique  de  cette 
gravure  ?  Mais  a  quoi  bon  f aire  ressortir  ce  qui  est  de  nature 
a  frapper  si  vivement  tous  les  yeux?  L'esprit  de  Rembrandt 
est  dans  cbaque  trait ;  il  se  revele  dans  les  moindres  nuances 
d'un  travail,  tantot  precieux,  tantot  vif  et  rapide.  Le  procede 
ne  fait  qu'  obeir  ici  aux  delicatesses  du  sentiment.  La  pointe 
est  conduite,  non  par  la  main,  mais  par  le  cceur." 

Charles  Blanc. 

21  The  Same. 

Another  splendid  impression.  Printed  on  white 
Holland  paper,  with  wide  margin. 

22  The  Three  Crosses.  (Bartsch  No.  78) 

Dated  1653.  Superb  impression  of  the  first  state  of 
five.  Printed  on  vellum,  which  has  acquired  a  won- 
derful rich  ivory  tone.  This  is  probably  the  finest 
impression  of  the  print  in  the  world,  having  been 
pronounced  by  a  famous  expert  to  be  much  finer 
than  the  one  in  the  print  room  of  the  British  Museum. 
"When  Rembrandt  had  passed  his  fiftieth  year  he  seems  to 
have  put  still  more  fire  into  his  painting,  and  to  have  worked 
with  even  greater  breadth  of  handling;  and  there  was  a 
corresponding  change  in  his  style  of  etching.  His  biblical 
subjects  appear  like  weird  visions  wrapped  in  mysterious 
light:  witness  his  powerful  crucifixion  known  as  The  Three 
Crosses."        Lippmann  :  Engraving  and  Etching,  page  174. 

23  The  Entombment.  (Bartsch  No.  86) 

The  first  state,  in  which  the  subject  is  treated  almost 
in  outline.  The  print  in  this  state  is  of  the  utmost 
rarity.  It  is  very  seldom  that  it  is  seen  outside  of 
the  great  public  collections. 

24  The  Same. 

Impression  in  the  second  state,  in  which  the  whole 
plate  has  been  carefully  worked  up  to  give  the  effect 
of  a  night  scene.  A  superb  example  of  Rembrandt's 
dark  manner. 

25  The  Same. 

Another  impression  in  the  second  state,  but  more 
heavily  inked,  giving  a  very  dark  and  gloomy  effect. 

26  Christ  at  Emmaus.  (Bartsch  No.  87) 

Dated  1634.  Brilliant  impression  of  the  second 
state,  from  the  Artaria  collection. 

"A  number  of  masterly  works  in  etching  are  dated  1634. 
Above  all  there  is  the  print  doubly  attractive  on  account  of  the 
charming  simplicity  of  the  design,  which  repeats  with  new  art- 
istic beauty  the  subject,  which  the  master  already  so  often 
handled,  of  the  manifestation  of  The  Redeemer  at  Emmaus." 

Knackfuss  :  Membrondt,  page  128. 

27  The  Same. 

Another  very  brilliant  impression,  on  yellowish 
paper,  from  the  Boerner  collection. 

10 


28  Peter  and  John  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple. 

(Bartsch  No.  94) 

Dated  16,59.  Beautiful  impression  of  the  second 
state  of  five,  on  paper  watermarked  with  the  "  Head 
of  Folly." 

29  St*  Jerome  "Writing  at  the  Foot  of  a  Tree. 

(Bartsch  No.  103) 
Dated  1648.     Beautiful  impression  with  margin. 

30  The  Same. 

A  second  impression,  on  paper  watermarked  with 
the  "Head  of  Folly."  From  the  collection  of  Dr. 
Strater. 

31  St.  Jerome  in  an  Italian  Landscape.      (Bartsch  No.  104) 

Assumed  date  1653. 

"  Rembrandt  a  traite  bien  des  fois  ce  sujet  de  Saint  Jerome, 
mais  jamais  avec  plus  de  grandeur  ni  d'une  fa^on  plus 
heureuse."  Charles  Blanc. 

32  The  Star  of  the  Kings.  (Bartsch  No.  113) 

Assumed  date  1652.    The  only  state. 

33  The  Shell.       ;  (Bartsch  No.  159) 

Dated  1650.  Of  the  utmost  rarity.  Superb  im- 
pression from  the  Alexander  Beugo  collection. 

"One  day  (in  1650)  be  sketches,  in  bis  roughest  and  most  rapid 
manner  Christ  in  the  Midst  of  his  Disciples  and  the  next  he  sets 
himself  to  imitate,  with  the  utmost  patience,  a  beautiful  sea- 
shell  of  a  pattern  presenting  dark  irregular  reticulations ;  the 
plate  is  of  the  greatest  interest  as  Rembrandt's  most  decided 
attempt  at  pure  and  simple  imitation  .  .  .  and  it  is  curious  to 
see  the  great  artist  humbly  giving  himself  this  elementary 
lesson  at  the  mature  age  of  forty-three." 

P.  G.  Hamerton :  Etchings  of  Rembrandt,  page  43. 

34  Woman  with  Her  Feet  in  the  Water.  (Bartsch  No.  200) 

Dated  1658.  Superb  proof  on  Japan  paper.  From 
the  collection  of  Dr.  Strater,  and  also  from  two  other 
collections  not  described  by  Fagan. 


SPECIAL  NOTE 
ON  THE  LANDSCAPE  ETCHINGS 

"In  landscape  etching,  Rembrandt  holds  a  pecu- 
liar position  in  relation  to  his  time.  .  .  .  He 
painted  beautiful  landscapes  but  they  were  less 
true  to  nature  than  those  of  many  of  his  contem- 
poraries. We  can  see  in  the  works  of  the  best 
painters  of  his  time  the  foundations  upon  which 
the  modern  French  school  built,  but  we  cannot  see 
11 


this  in  Rembrandt.  When,  however,  we  turn  to 
etching,  the  case  is  entirely  different.  Here  Rem- 
brandt stands  out  as  an  inexplicable  phenomenon 
of  his  time.  He  had  no  predecessors,  he  had  no 
contemporaries,  and  he  had  no  successors  until 
the  nineteenth  century  brought  forth  its  great 
men.  He  stands  there  in  the  seventeenth  century 
a  unique  figure,  and  no  one  can  say  from  whence 
came  his  art.  He  does  not  show  a  mere  tendency 
toward  nineteenth  century  landscape.  He  is  as 
modern  as  the  men  of  the  nineteenth  century 
themselves;  and  while  he  has  had  his  equals  in 
two  or  three  of  them,  he  remains  to-day  an  unsur- 
passed '  modern  among  the  moderns. '  ' ' 

Atherton  Curtis. 


' '  After  1641,  however,  Rembrandt  threw  himself 
into  etching  with  renewed  energy,  and  at  once 
found  in  landscape  a  new  milieu,  in  which  he  won 
the  most  glorious  triumphs  of  his  art.  To  the  ten 
years  from  1641  to  1651  belong  almost  all  the 
twenty-eight  landscape  etchings  which  can  with 
certainty  be  ascribed  to  Rembrandt.  They  are 
pictures  of  his  native  surroundings,  broad  plains 
with  a  fine  feeling  of  space  and  open  air.  Some 
cottages  or  a  group  of  trees  give  a  note  of  interest 
in  the  foreground,  but  from  this  the  eye  is  drawn 
to  the  distant  landscape  wrapped  in  the  soft  sea- 
mists  of  the  lowlands  of  Holland.  So  complete  is 
his  command  of  the  etcher's  craft,  so  delicate  his 
perception  of  tone,  so  convincing  the  surety  of  his 
perspective,  that  we  forget  that  we  have  only  black 
and  white  before  our  eyes ;  the  prints  seem  to  ex- 
press everything  that  a  finished  painting  in  color 
could  supply."— Lippmann,  Engraving  and  Etch- 
ing, page  171. 

Sir  Seymour  Haden  ingeniously  points  out  that 
nearly  all  of  Rembrandt's  landscapes  were  etched 
during  the  sad  and  solitary  years  immediately 
after  the  master  had  lost  his  beloved  first  wife, 
Saskia. 


L2 


35  A  View  of  Omval.  (Bartsch  No.  209) 

Beautiful  impression  of  the  first  state  of  four.  Be- 
fore the  shading  due  to  the  use  of  sulphur  was 
cleaned  from  the  background  of  the  plate  and  before 
the  trial  scratches  in  the  upper  right  hand  corner 
were  altered. 

From  the  collections  of  S.  Bechberger,  1799,  and 
Henri  le  Sec  des  Tournelles. 

Seymour  Haden  considers  this  the  most  beautiful 
of  Rembrandt's  landscapes. 

36  A  View  of  Amsterdam.  (Bartsch  No.  210) 

Assumed  date  1641.  The  only  state.  Beautiful 
impression  with  wide  margin,  on  paper  watermarked 
with  "Head  of  Folly." 

37  Landscape  with  the  Milkman.  (Bartsch  No.  214) 

Assumed  date  1636.    Of  the  utmost  rarity. 

38  Landscape  with  a  Man  Sketching.    '    (Bartsch  No.  219) 

Assumed  date  1648. 

39  Le  Bouquet  de  Bois.  (Bartsch  No.  222) 

Dated  1652.  Very  fine  impression  of  this  extremely 
rare  dry-point,  from  the  Francois  Debois  collection. 
This  impression  received  a  slight  fold  in  the  press. 

40  Landscape  with  the  Haybarn.  (Bartsch  No.  225) 

Dated  1641.  Beautiful  impression  from  the  Artaria 
collection,  and  another  not  described  by  Fagan. 
This  print  has  always  been  considered  one  of  Rem- 
brandt's most  beautiful  landscapes. 

41  The  Same. 

Another  impression,  somewhat  lighter  in  tone  than 
the  preceding. 

42  Landscape  with  a  Mill  Sail  Seen  Above  a  Cottage. 

(Bartsch  No.  226) 
Dated  1641.  The  only  state.  It  is  unfortunate  that 
this  landscape,  which  in  composition  was  one  of 
Rembrandt's  finest,  is  usually  dull  and  somewhat 
monotonous  in  tone.  The  present  impression  has 
quite  an  unusual  amount  of  variety  and  life.  On 
paper  watermarked  with  the  "  Lilienwappen." 

43  Landscape  with  an  Obelisk.  (Bartsch  No.  227) 

Assumed  date  1632.  Impression  full  of  burr  and 
with  the  tone,  obtained  by  the  use  of  sulphur,  very 
visible  in  the  sky.  From  the  collection  of  Prince 
Soutzo. 

44  The  Same. 

Another  impression  on  paper  watermarked  with 
"Head  of  Folly." 


13 


45  The  Cottage  with  the  White  Palings.  (Bartseh  No.  232) 

Dated  1632.  Superb  impression.  Duplicate  from 
the  Amsterdam  Museum.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
charming  of  Rembrandt's  landscapes.  The  vivid 
white  of  the  planks  in  the  center  of  the  dark  part 
of  this  picture  is  an  instance  of  his  brilliant  origi- 
nality of  composition.  The  trees  are  beautiful  ex- 
amples of  his  earlier  manner  of  treating  foliage  in 
pure  etching..  Later  on  when  he  came  to  use  dry- 
point  more  in  the  treatment  of  trees,  in  such  plates 
as  the  Goldweigher1  s  Field  and  the  Flock  of  Sheep, 
the  foliage  is  quite  different  and  is  made  up  of  a 
great  number  of  stiff  little  strokes. 

46  The  Same.  (Bartseh  No.  232) 

Another  impression  on  paper  watermarked  with 
"Head  of  Folly." 

47  The  Mill.  (Bartseh  No.  233) 

Dated  1641.  Superb  early  impression,  before  any 
of  the  effect  obtained  in  the  sky  by  the  use  of  sul- 
phur was  lost. 

"Here  we  see  nothing  but  a  wind-mill,  a  few  houses  and  a  per- 
fectly fiat  horizon;  but  what  a  refined  and  indescribable  charm 
— the  secret  of  true  art  which  defies  analysis — lies  in  the  sin- 
cerity with  which  this  scene  is  rendered." 

Knackfuss :  Rembrandt,  page  85. 

48  Landscape  with  a  Large  Boat  (Bartseh  No.  236) 

Dated  1650.  Of  the  finest  quality  but  cut  about 
one  eighth  of  an  inch  at  the  top,  and  re-margined. 
From  the  collections  of  Josef  Camesina  de  Ponal, 
Josef  Daniel  Bohm  and  D.  Gr.  de  Arozarena. 

49  Antonides  van  den  Linden.  (Bartseh  No.  264) 

Extremely  fine  impression  in  the  finished  state. 
From  the  Artaria  collection. 

50  Clement  de  Jonghe.  (Bartseh  No.  272) 

Dated  1651.  Beautiful  impression  of  one  of  the 
most  famous  of  Rembrandt's  portraits.  From  the 
Ellingwood  collection. 

"  As  to  the  portrait  of  Clement  de  Jonghe  which  Rembrandt 
etched,  one  has  no  need  to  remark  how  fortunate  is  the  arrange- 
ment or  how  beautiful  the  effect,  how  imposing  the  pensive 
expression  of  this  personage  whom  one  would  so  little  suspect 
of  being  a  merchant  occupied  with  the  prosaic  details  of  his 
business  and  to  whom  Rembrandt — who  always  idealized  na- 
ture according  to  his  own  ideas  —  has  been  able  to  give,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Young  Haaring,  an  air  of  re  very  so  profound, 
and  the  austere  melancholy  of  a  philosopher  in  meditation. ' ' 

Charles  Blanc. 

"Nothing in  all  the  great  etched  work  of  Rembrandt  is  in 
craftsmanship  more  unobtrusively  magnificent,  and  in  its  sug- 
gestion of  complex  character  nothing  is  more  subtle." 

Frederick  Wedmore :  Fine  Prints,  page  62. 


14 


51  Jan  Lutma.  (Bartsch  No.  276) 

Dated  1656.  Second  state,  before  the  curved  shad- 
ing on  the  window  jamb  in  the  upper  right  hand 
corner.  Extremely  fine  impression,  from  the  Elling- 
wood  collection. 

"  Rembrandt  produced  one  of  his  most  masterly  portrait  etch- 
ings in  1656,  the  incomparably  picturesque  and  life-like  print 
of  the  famous  goldsmith,  Janus  Lutma  of  Groningen." 

H.  Knackfuss  :  Rembrandt,  page  137. 
"He"  (Rembrandt)  "admired  nothing  so  much  as  a  certain 
stern  and  manly  grandeur  resulting  from  the  combination  of 
the  habits  of  reflection  and  much  experience  of  the  world." 

P.  G.  Hamerton. 

52  Jan  Asselyn.  (Bartsch  No.  277) 

Dated  1641.  The  second  state  of  four,  immediately 
after  the  easel  was  effaced  from  the  background  of 
the  plate. 

53  Johannes  "Wtenbogardus.  (Bartsch  No.  279) 

Splendid  impression  of  the  completed  plate,  but  be- 
fore the  crude  retouches  on  the  curtain  at  the  right. 

54  Jan  Sylvius.  (Bartsch  No.  280) 

Dated  1646.  This  portrait  is  one  of  Rembrandt's 
very  greatest  works.  It  is  unfortunately  very  scarce 
and  is  only  to  be  found  in  a  few  of  the  oldest  and 
most  famous  collections. 

55  Utenbogaerd,  the  Gold  "Weigher.         (Bartsch  No.  281) 

Dated  1639.  Superb  impression  of  the  second  state 
of  four.  The  face  of  the  gold  weigher  is  still  a 
blank  in  the  first  state,  which  exists  only  in  four  or 
five  impressions. 

56  Young  Man  in  a  Mezetin  Cap.  (Bartsch  No.  289) 

Assumed  date  1635. 

57  Man  with  a  Broad  Hat  and  a  Ruff.      [Bartsch  No.  311 

Dated  1630.  Beautiful  impression  from  the  collec- 
tions of  Herman  Weber  and  Dr.  Strater.  This  por- 
trait was  among  Eovinski's  favorites,  he  speaks  of 
it  as  u  cette  superbe  feuille." 

58  Saskia  with  the  Head-dress  of  Pearls.    (Bartsch  No.  347) 

Dated  1634. 


15 


^ -hi  WIS 


